URGENT ACTION
GRAVE RISK OF EXECUTIONS IN RELATION TO PROTESTS 
At least seven individuals in Iran are under sentence of death in connection with nationwide protests, while dozens of others are at risk of being sentenced to death. The authorities have violated their fair trial rights and subjected many to torture and other ill-treatment, including floggings, electric shocks, death threats and sexual violence. Amid a spike in executions since late April, on 19 May, authorities arbitrarily executed tortured protesters Majid Kazemi, Saeed Yaghoubi and Saleh Mirhashemi in Esfahan, who were unjustly convicted and sentenced to death. 
TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Head of judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei
c/o Embassy of Iran to the European Union, 
Avenue Franklin Roosevelt No. 15, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium

Dear Mr Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei,

I am gravely concerned that dozens of people are at risk of the death penalty following grossly unfair trials involving charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz) in connection with the nationwide protests. On 19 May, authorities arbitrarily executed Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, who were unjustly convicted and sentenced to death in a trial that relied on torture-tainted “confessions” and which bore no resemblance to meaningful judicial proceedings. At least seven are currently under the sentence of death and at grave risk of execution. They are Ebrahim Narouie, Kambiz Kharout, Manouchehr Mehman Navaz, Mansour Dahmardeh, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour and Shoeib Mir Baluchzehi Rigi. At least four others –Mahan Sadrat (Sedarat) Madani, Mansour Hout, Mohammad Boroughani, Nezamoldin Hout – are facing retrials on capital charges after their convictions and death sentences were quashed by the Supreme Court and their cases returned to lower courts. Amnesty International is aware of at least three others – Saeed Shirazi, Abolfazl Mehri Hossein Hajilou, and Mohsen Rezazadeh Gharegholou – who have undergone trial on charges that carry the death penalty. Dozens of others are being investigated for capital crimes brought in relation to the protests. 

The aforementioned individuals have faced grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts and/or Criminal Courts across the country. The rights violated include the right to: adequate defence and access to lawyers of their choosing; the presumption of innocence; remain silent; meaningfully challenge the legality of their detentions and receive a fair, public hearing. Amnesty International has documented the torture and other ill-treatment of nine of the individuals named above, through beatings, floggings, electric shocks, suspension upside down, sexual violence and deliberate denial of healthcare. The authorities have used torture-tainted “confessions”, some of which were broadcast on state media prior to trials, as evidence to issue convictions.

I urge you to immediately quash all convictions and death sentences stemming from the protests, refrain from seeking further death sentences, and ensure that anyone charged with a recognizable criminal offence is tried in proceedings meeting international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty. I call for the release of all those detained for peacefully exercising their human rights. I urge you to provide those detained access to their families and lawyers of their own choosing, protect them from torture and other ill-treatment and investigate torture allegations, bringing anyone found responsible to justice in fair trials. Finally, grant independent observers access to capital trials and those on death row connected to protests and, more broadly, immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view of abolishing the death penalty. 

Yours sincerely,
Additional information
The trials of individuals for capital offences in connection with the nationwide protests have borne no resemblance to meaningful judicial proceedings. The authorities have relied on torture-tainted “confessions” and other evidence obtained in violation of international law and standards to indict and convict people. Individuals have been barred from accessing any lawyers during the investigation phase. Authorities also barred independently appointed lawyers from attending trial hearings and accessing their clients’ casefiles. The right to the presumption of innocence has also been repeatedly violated with state media airing defendants’ forced “confessions” prior to their trials. The authorities have fast-tracked capital cases, with some individuals convicted days after their trials began. These trials took place across the country including Alborz province for Mohammad Boroughani and Mahand Sadrat (Sedarat) Madani; Esfahan province for Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi; Khuzestan province for Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour; Sistan and Baluchistan province for Ebrahim Narouie, Mansour Dahmardeh, Kambiz Kharout, Shoeib Mir Baluchzehi Rigi, Mansour Hout and Nezamoldin Hout; and Tehran province for Manouchehr Mehman Navaz, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Saeed Shirazi, Abolfazl Mehri Hossein Hajilou and Mohsen Rezazadeh Gharegholou. Of the eight individuals under sentence of death, at least four were sentenced to death for offences such as vandalism, assault and arson in violation of international law which prohibits the death penalty for offences that do not involve intentional killing. 

Amnesty International has documented the torture and other ill-treatment of six individuals under sentence of death to extract forced “confessions”, namely Ebrahim Narouie, Kambiz Kharout, Mansour Dahmardeh, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour and Shoeib Mir Baluchzehi Rigi. According to informed sources, interrogators subjected Ebrahim Narouie, who was convicted of “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz) in late 2022, to torture and other ill-treatment, including through sticking needles into his genitals, to compel him to make forced “confessions” in writing and in front of a video camera. An informed source also told Amnesty International that the authorities repeatedly beat Mohammad Ghobadlou, whose conviction for “corruption on earth” and death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2022, and withheld his bipolar medication. A forensic report confirms that while in custody, he sustained bruising and injuries. 
To date, the authorities have arbitrarily executed seven people in connection with the protests after grossly unfair trials marred by torture allegations. On 19 May 2023, Iranian authorities executed Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, who were put on trial in December 2022 and January 2023 and sentenced to death on the vaguely worded and overly broad charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh). The authorities imposed the charge based on unfounded allegations stemming from torture-tainted “confessions” that the men used firearms in an incident during protests during which three members of the security forces died. However, they did not charge them or convict them of murder for these deaths. On 10 May, the authorities announced that their convictions and sentences had been upheld by the Supreme Court despite due process violations, significant procedural flaws, lack of evidence, and torture allegations that were never investigated. Amnesty International obtained information that the three were subjected to torture while forcibly disappeared and forced to make incriminating statements. Interrogators suspended Majid Kazemi upside down and showed him a video of them torturing his brother and repeatedly subjected him to mock executions. 
Since the beginning of the popular uprising in September 2022, the authorities have arrested and indicted thousands of people, raising concerns about the imposition of the death penalty on more individuals. In addition to the aforementioned individuals, Amnesty International has confirmed the names of at least 16 others – Toomaj Salehi, Farzad (Farzin) Tahazadeh, Farhad Tahazadeh, Karwan Shahiparvaneh, Reza Eslamdoost, Shahram Marouf-Moula, Pouria Javaheri, Heshmatollah Tabarzad, Bahman Bahmani, Mohsen Ahmadpour, Behrouz Salahshour, Rasul Badaghi, Vahid Abbasi, Reza Arabpour, Sadegh Ghasemi and Ismail Mousavi Nazari – who are in detention and are accused of, charged with or indicted on capital offences. 
Since late April 2023, the Iranian authorities have embarked on an alarming execution spree of scores of people, intensifying their use the death penalty as a tool of repression in an attempt to instil fear into the population and crush ongoing acts of resistance against the authorities and establishment. 
PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: Persian, English 
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 23 July 2023 
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PREFFERED PRONOUN: Ebrahim Narouie, Kambiz Kharout, Manouchehr Mehman Navaz, Mansour Dahmardeh, Mohammad Boroughani, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Shoeib Mir Baluchzehi Rigi, Mahan Sadrat (Sedarat) Madani, Saeed Shirazi, Abolfazl Mehri Hossein Hajilou, Mohsen Rezazadeh Gharegholou, Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi. (he: him)

LINK TO PREVIOUS UA: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/6424/2023/en/ 

Additional TARGET

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran
16 Prince’s Gate SW7 1PT
Fax: 020 7589 4440
iranemb.lon@mfa.gov.ir